Gallinari Is Definitely Not The Biggest NBA What-If... #Sports

Danilo Gallinari recently said he might be the biggest what-if guy in the history of the game. When I saw that, my first reaction was, really? Because before even getting to the Derek Roses or Brandon Royce of the NBA, I could think of at least three or four Europeans whose careers left me with bigger questions. And those guys weren't affected by just injuries. It was contracts, politics, and unfortunately, even tragedies. Okay, but before I dismiss the Italian, let's actually examine his case, set a standard, and then we compare from there. Before turning 20, Danilo Gallinari was a highly rated prospect who had even won the Italian League MVP. In 2008, the Knicks used their six-pick on this tall forward who could shoot, handle the ball, and score in all kinds of ways. There were some early back issues that only allowed him to play 28 games as a rookie, but by his second season, he was already a starter. And by 2011, he had developed into a 16-point-per-game scorer. He also ended up as one of, if not the most important piece in the Carmelo Anthony trade. True to be told, in Denver, he fit in really nicely right away and elevated that team immediately. In fact, the 2012-13 Nuggets finished third in the West and won the most regular-season games in franchise history at 57. In that team, Gallinari was scoring second-most points after Ty Lawson, and this Nuggets roster basically had no true stars. And then, just before the playoffs, Gallinari tore his left ACL. Denver then lost to Golden State in the first round without him, and then Danilo also missed the entire following season. But the timing, the severity of the injury, and of course the recovery time really stopped his momentum. On the other hand, his career didn't stop there, not even close to that. He returned at quite a young age of 26, and in the 2015-16 season was scoring almost 20 points a game. Later, with the post-Lobb City Clippers, he again averaged almost 20 points a game. That's the part I want to emphasize. Despite all these injuries, we did get to see a great NBA scorer fulfill most of his potential. Later on, in 2022, Gallinari signed with Boston right after the Celtics had made the finals. Before he could play a single game for them, he tore the ACL in the same knee again while playing for Italy in the summer, which was another full season gone. But at that point, he was already 34, and his career trajectory was already going downwards for a while. So in my eyes, that second ACL injury is less of a what-if than the first one. Sure, Danilo with both healthy knees would have been great, but he still retired after 14 seasons with more than 11,000 points. I feel like that's a bit more realized potential than what a true what-if case should have. But with the next what-if case, I think we have a few more unanswered questions. Because Ricky Rubio made his Spanish League debut at just 14 years of age. Then, at 17, he was already playing for Spain in the Olympic final against the likes of Kobe, LeBron, D-Wade, and the rest of Team USA. And by the time Minnesota drafted him 5th in 2009, the expectations were just super high. Listen, at 12 years old, I didn't really care about any Spanish players, but Ricky Rubio was the exception. He stayed for two more years in Spain, then won the EuroLeague with Barcelona, and then came over in 2011. Ricky Rubio immediately made the Wolves way more fun to watch with his ridiculous passing vision. Also, the 21-year-old was fast on his feet, using his quick first step on drives and often intercepting the ball defensively. But then, only a few months into his NBA rookie season, he tore the ACL and the LCL ligaments in his left knee after colliding with Kobe. He did return the following season and remained a great passer in his career, peaking at 9.1 assists in 2016-17 season. But to be honest, his career is seen as someone who was a respected NBA veteran, but not generational superstar people expected to witness. And while the injuries are the obvious thing to talk about, there was also a huge loss in Rubio's personal life that affected his basketball career. In 2016, his mother had passed away after years of illness. Ricky has spoken about how hard it was being in America while she was sick, and about the pressure of being Ricky Rubio since childhood. Even after leading Spain to the 2019 World Cup title and winning the MVP, he felt like he didn't deserve the award. Later in 2021, he was actually playing some of his best basketball, helping these young Cavs to win. And then, another ACL ligament tear ended his season. It's not really hard to feel bad for the guy. Because all of these things added up to his psychological struggles that he admitted to in 2023 when he stepped away from the NBA to take care of his mental health. Then, after a brief return to the EuroLeague with Varsa, he took another break and finally came back to Joventut, the club where he actually started his career. And just recently, in 2026, he said he was enjoying basketball again, which I think matters most in the Ricky Rubio story. More than any hypothetical career achievements or accolades, whatever. Okay, just about time to add some Balkan flavor to this video, so let's move on to Dino Raja. Unlike the first two guys in this list, in addition to injuries, he also just missed out on his chances to make the NBA earlier. See, in 1989 and 90, Raja and Tony Kukoc helped the legendary club Yugoplastika win back-to-back European championships. Dino was the Final Four MVP in 89. So, while it was still unusual to draft Europeans, Boston actually drafted him that same year and wanted him there right away. He even signed a contract with the Celtics, but Yugoplastika said he was still under contract, so they took the case to court and then eventually won that. Then, Boston expected him to arrive the following year, but there was an issue. Raja got a very lucrative offer from Rome and the Celtics weren't sure how many minutes they could give him, so he chose to stay in Europe. So, while the Virtus.Roma fans got to see him for the next three years, it also meant that the NBA didn't get to see Dino Raja at the peak of his athleticism from age 22 to age 26. By 1992, playing for Croatia, he scored 23 points against the Dream Team in the Olympic final. The Celtics saw that Raja could already play against NBA talent and finally, in 1993, Dino joined the team. He did arrive to a rebuilding Boston team, but became one of its brightest spots. Raja averaged 15 points and 7 rebounds as a rookie, making the all-rookie second team. And his numbers just kept improving every single season. In 1995-96, he was putting up almost 20 points, 10 rebounds and one and a half blocks per game. He had the post game, could face up, shoot from mid-range and was mobile enough to run the floor. But, despite it all, Boston made the playoffs just once, losing to Orlando in the first round. So, Raja was basically stuck in a middling team. Then, in his fourth season, knee pain forced him to undergo surgery after 25 games. And when the Celtics tried to trade him, he then failed his physicals and they bought him out. At just 30, having just put up some all-star level numbers, this was the end of his NBA journey. And I guess his case is way more comparable to Gallinari, but Gallinari got to play much, much longer. Later, Raja came back to Europe and proved he could still dominate on that level. The next story I briefly touched upon in my video on the NBA's first big wave of Europeans. By the way, guys, if you enjoy these international basketball videos, this would be the appropriate time for you to actually click the subscribe button. Come on now. So, let's talk about Dražen Petrović. The question is not whether he could've been an NBA star, because he already became one. The real what-if is what could've followed, if not for the tragedy that took his life way too early. Because in reality, the NBA had just only started seeing the true potential of the Mozart of basketball. And Europeans had seen that greatness for years. He was a huge star, winning two European titles with Cibona and put up some unbelievable scoring numbers. I mean, averaging over 40 points the whole season, or say, having 112 points in a single game. It must be said that that 112-point performance was actually against a youth team, but still, I don't care, it was legendary. Anyhow, Portland drafted him in 1986, but the restrictions on leaving Yugoslavia and the contract problems delayed his move until 1989. And once he arrived to the Blazers with Clyde Drexler, who was still a star of that team, he mostly sat at the bench. Only after getting traded to New Jersey in 1991, did his NBA career really begin. In 1992-93 season, he averaged 22.3 points, made nearly 45% of his threes and earned an All-NBA Third Team nod. He had become a full NBA starter in those last two seasons, and it felt like the sky was the limit. Really. And although New Jersey had made the playoffs that year, Trashin wasn't really happy with his situation there. He actually even had a Panathinaikos offer to return to Europe, which he was seriously considering. But as you know, we never found out what kind of a decision he would make and what kind of player or person he would become eventually. On June 7th, 1993, at just 28 years old, Trashin tragically died in a car crash in Germany. I'll be honest, it was hard for me to even do this what-if as a ranking, because obviously what Trashin's family and friends lost goes way beyond any basketball conversations. That said, I do have one more player to round off this list, and again, I hope that you don't take it as disrespect towards Trashin. But speaking strictly from the basketball what-if perspective, Arvid Sabonis' case for the biggest what-if in European basketball is the strongest to me. Because with Sabonis, we didn't just miss out on some early years of a player. Nah, the NBA completely missed out on this mythical version of him that had GOAT potential. We're talking 7 foot 3 or 2 meter 20 centimeter center who could pass, shoot from deep, fly in for dunks, block shots, dominate in the post, and move like a forward. The Americans first saw that version in 1982 when a 17-year-old Sabonis faced Ralph Sampson, who is another unicorn by the way, when the University of Virginia defeated the Soviet Union. A bit later, in 1985, Atlanta drafted him 77th overall only for the pick to be voided because he was still under 21 years of age. And of course, Sabonis didn't even know he had been drafted. Duh. Anyways, then Portland selected him in the first round one year later, but getting the Lithuanian out of the Soviet Union was nearly impossible. At the same time, the other problem began. His body started falling apart. Between 1986 and 1987, Sabonis injured his Achilles, returned too soon, then completely tore it and re-tore it again at a hotel. And the Soviets still pushed him into competing in the 1988 Olympics, where he then won gold against the Americans. As those restrictions on players moving abroad eased in 1989, Portland finally had a real chance to bring him over. At the start, they offered him $1 million per season, but before the contract reached Lithuania, Sabonis had already agreed with a Spanish club. Apparently, after everything his body had gone through, he wasn't ready for NBA athleticism. Spain offered similar money, familiar basketball and a way safer transition away from the Soviet Union. Then, with no concrete Portland offer in 1992, he signed with Real Madrid and proved he was still the best in Europe by winning the 1995 Euroleague and the Final Four MVP. And only then, at the age of 31, he joined the Portland Trailblazers. Actually, his medical examination was so bad that the Portland doctor joked that he could qualify for the handicapped parking spot. And yet, this slow and broken down version averaged 14.5 points and 8 rebounds in only 24 minutes as a rookie. In the playoffs, those numbers jumped to 23.6 and 10.2. Eventually, Sabonis played seven NBA seasons, then returned to Europe and finished his career as the Euroleague MVP. To me, the young Sabonis is a Wemby-Jokic hybrid before either of those guys were even born. I don't know, if that's not enough for the biggest European what-if, then I don't know what is. But of course, I will hear you out in the comments below. Would you put Drazin at number one or is it Sabos for you too? Or wait, maybe it's Danilo Gallinari. If you got any other names, drop them below and also don't forget to like and hype this video to help our channel grow and subscribe for more videos just like these and if basketball matters to you too.